Free Republic

HOUSTON, TX – A new song by two of Houston’s own cranks out the bass, all while beating down boundaries. The unlikely duo of gangster rapper Slim Thug, and preacher Joel Osteen is breaking the internet as much for their pairing, as for their musical message. Slim, a member of Osteen’s Lakewood Church for many years, used clips of the pastor on “Chuuch”, a song on the rappers latest release “Hogg Life Volume 2″. And while mixing religion and rap might not be the norm, for many the sermon and the song are a perfect fit. The message of the...

Killer Mike has become a vital Hip Hop representative when it comes to discussions about injustice, police brutality, and racism. The Atlanta-based rapper has addressed those topics as one half of Run The Jewels, a guest on CNN, a lecturer at M.I.T, and a columnist for Vox. Mike returned to television to once again speak on relevant social topics. He stopped by the PBS program The Tavis Smiley Show. The conversation included Mike and Smiley debating the idea of African-Americans offering forgiveness for racial discrimination. “After we reconcile, why don’t I own any of the land? Why does De Beers...

As we learned from Mad Men, the advertising industry is ever intent on harnessing trends that are bubbling up organically. Countercultural ideals (say, hippie-era peace and love) are wedded to a mainstream product (say, Coke) and blasted to the mainstream before anyone knows what’s hit them. Which is why hip-hop and advertising go together so well. Firmly rooted in youth culture, hip-hop is edgy but accessible, a combination that companies adore. It can be exciting to see your favorite rapper validated in big-name plugs, whether it’s Jay Z for Hewlett Packard or Eminem for Chrysler. But for every carefully considered,...

High-profile murderers often attract a fringe element that is, in the face of all evidence, convinced of the accused's innocence. Jodi Arias is no exception. Except, one of her fans is a rapper. Thirty-four-year-old Kareem Williams, a.k.a. Lefty, is a fanatical supporter of Jodi Arias, who was convicted of the murder of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison earlier this year. Williams has recorded a song expressing sympathy for the woman, who a jury found to have slit the throat of victim Travis Alexander and stabbed almost 30 times. Like many other supporters, he...

RIOTING broke out at MetLife Stadium tonight at the Summer Jam Concert. It was a hip hop/rap concert hosted by Hot 97. Tyson TrishVerified account ‏@tysontrish OC gas being deployed outside MetLife Stadium Summer Jam concert @NorthJerseybrk East Rutherford, NJ Protesters threw bottles and glass objects at the police.East Coast 911 reported: EastRutherford Personnel continue to operate at MetLife Stafium, the venue for the Hot 97 Summer Jam music event this evening, where a riot & multiple fights broke out this evening. Law Enforcement personnel have had bottles/glass & other objects thrown at them. At least 1 trooper has been...

State Police also arrested 61 people after they allegedly climbed fences and tried to push past security at the concert at MetLife Stadium.Dozens of people were arrested and nearly a dozen state police troopers were injured when people tried to climb fences and push their way past security at the Summer Jam concert at MetLife stadium Sunday, state police said. Concertgoers threw bottles and trash at police and security personnel; Troopers used shields and helmets to protect themselves, state police said. Police used pepper spray, noise generators, and tear gas was used to remove people from the area outside the...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)BALTIMORE —City police need help to identify a person of interest in the homicide of a Baltimore rapper. Authorities said 25-year-old Leedell Brown died after he was severely attacked inside the Hott Spott Lounge in downtown Baltimore. Hott Spott shut down for alcoholic beverage law violation. Brown's family said the sketch is one step closer to justice. Police released a sketch of a person of interest in the Brown's beating death inside the Hott Spott Lounge on Guilford Avenue in February. "He was just a good guy. I don't really have the words. He was my brother, my little brother,"...

While discussing the latest Pew Survey that documented the decline of people professing to be Christian in America, Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly blamed the Catholic Church's corruption and rap music's "promotion of depraved behavior" as a few reasons for the decline of Christianity in U.S. culture. "There is no question that people of faith are being marginalized by a secular media and pernicious entertainment," O'Reilly said. "The rap industry, for example, often glorifies depraved behavior, and that sinks into the minds of some young people – the group that is most likely to reject religion. Also, many movies and...

Dear Azealia Banks, I read about your interview with Playboy magazine where you apparently took off your clothes and talked about how much you hate white people. Just another day at the office for you, I suppose. I confess I didn’t read the whole exchange, though I’m sure it was packed with penetrating insight and searing self-reflection. I did notice, however, this portion: “I hate everything about this country. Like, I hate fat white Americans… All the people who are crunched into the middle of America, the real fat and meat of America, are these racist conservative white people who...

Six leaders of the Ferguson protests held a press conference Thursday afternoon by telephone to discuss the shooting that wounded two police officers there early that morning. The conference began with the leaders denouncing the shootings, with several stressing that their movements are based on nonviolent principles. Later, however, one participant said people often “respond in kind” to police violence; and another — a member of the Ferguson Commission — called the shootings “suspicious.” ---snip--- Rapper Tef Poe, noting that he “didn’t even want to be on this call,” said, “We grieve for the victims of all forms of violence.”...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Method Man made an appearance on "News Nation with Tamron Hall" on MSNBC to talk about an upcoming film, but was instead asked about tension with police in the aftermath of a shooting early Thursday that injured two officers in Ferguson, Mo. "With this thing that happened in Ferguson just now with the two officers, sad, very sad," he said. "I hate to say that the FBI report kind of played into this, and these things shouldn't be happening, but you reap what you sow, in a sense, you know?" The FBI said in January no civil rights charges should...

New revelations are fueling the outrage at the University of Oklahoma and beyond. Some members of the school's Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity face disciplinary action. A video surfaced Sunday showing members chanting a racist song containing the "n-word." ....When CBS News spoke with her, she was reacting to the nine-second video of students chanting racial slurs. But on Tuesday morning, it's her own words that have set the internet ablaze. In the 2013 video posted on Vine, Gilbow is seen "rapping" the lyrics to a song that includes the "n-word."

Rapper Snoop Dogg is part of new UnloadYour401K campaign aimed at getting hard-working Americans to call their financial advisers and get rid of any and all investments in gun companies. Snoop Dogg appears in a video for the campaign in which he says, “I’ve been affected by gun violence over the years, just through the deaths of friend and family members, and associates.” In another portion he appears again, this time holding a white sign with “#ImUnloading” emblazoned upon it. He says, “I’m unloading for my love ones that I lost.” Singer/Songwriter Jhene Aiko also appears in the #ImUnloading video....

A tour manager who was well-known in the music industry and was working on preparations for rap superstar Nicki Minaj's upcoming tour, was killed after a bar fight spread into a Philadelphia street. De'Von Pickett, 29, of the Bronx, New York, was stabbed to death outside the Che Bar & Grill along Stenton Avenue in Philadelphia's West Oak Lane neighborhood early Wednesday morning.

The United States added German former rapper Denis Cuspert to its list of "terrorists" over his role as a fighter with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, the State Department said Monday. The 39-year-old, who used to rap in Berlin under the name "Deso Dogg" and now goes by the name Abu Talha al-Almani, is one of the most famous Western fighters for ISIS. He is already listed as an Al-Qaeda supporter by the United Nations. The US listing as a "global terrorist" freezes all of Cuspert's assets under US control and prohibits transactions with him. Cuspert joined...

Song lyrics that glorify violence are hardly uncommon. But a prosecutor in California says one rapper's violent lyrics go beyond creative license to conspiracy. San Diego-based rapper Tiny Doo has already spent eight months in prison, and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted under a little-known California statute that makes it illegal to benefit from gang activities. The statute in question is California Penal Code 182.5. The code makes it a felony for anyone to participate in a criminal street gang, have knowledge that a street gang has engaged in criminal activity, or benefit from that activity....

A week ago most people had never come across rapper Azealia Banks. She flew onto everyone’s radar on Saturday with just one tweet. It was as follows- And time to put death spells on cops who kill innocent civilians and think they can get away with it….. OKURRRRRR?!Immediately people began to respond on twitter with calls to the ancient magicks and the ancestors. People called Azealia a racist, and some Wiccans even chimed in with the three fold law. If there were any Pagans out there that thought they didn’t have “a nickel in this quarter,” they must admit they...

It is a crime spree and viral internet sensation that started in Chicago last May and is spreading across the country like wildfire. […] It's called “Put ’Em In A Coffin,” and it was created by a rap musician named VonMar, who has posted dozens of videos of himself doing it. He's even been arrested for it. Just what is “Put ’Em In A Coffin”? James McHugh, 28, lives in the Fifth Ward, and he can tell you exactly what it is, because it happened to him this past weekend. “A group of young idiots, just out for laughs, to...

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MAY TRIGGER ANYONE WHO IS OFFENDED BY RACIAL SLURS AND ENJOYS MUSIC.If you don’t know who Azealia Banks is, there are only two explanations: 1.You’re a racist.2.Just kidding, that was it. She’s a rapper/singer/whatever who’s less known for her music than for her feuds, or “beefs,” with more popular and/or talented artists. She picks fights with people like Iggy Azalea, Eminem, Lady Gaga, and then a bunch of other people you’ve never heard of because of #1 above. Banks has been forced to do this for publicity purposes, because her music sounds like...

According to the latest census data, African Americans make up just over 13% of the US population. That means out of the 317 million people living in the USA, there are about 41 million blacks -- just over the total population of California. However, looking at the popular culture you'd never know that. Black music dominates popular music. Black culture is how most people define "cool." And most of all, what might offend blacks dominates popular culture, media, education, and entertainment. Fred Reed writes: